Ex-Anglo Irish head facing second trial over bank meltdown

Reuters Staff

3 Min Read

* Ex-Anglo CEO issued with more charges, faces second trial

* Charged for misleading Anglo’s auditors

* Due to appear in court in March, no trial date set

By Sarah O‘Connor

DUBLIN, March 1 (Reuters) - The former head of the defunct Anglo Irish Bank will face a second trial connected to Ireland’s most expensive banking failure, charged with misleading auditors, a Dublin court heard on Friday.

Sean FitzPatrick, who oversaw the rapid rise and stunning fall of Anglo, is already due to be tried on fraud charges next year. He is the highest-profile banker to be charged in connection with the financial meltdown that dragged Ireland into an 85 billion euro ($111 billion) international bailout.

FitzPatrick will face 12 counts of keeping auditors in the dark over loans worth 139 million euros that he received from Anglo during his time in charge. He resigned in late 2008 after admitting he repeatedly misled shareholders for years over the issue.

FitzPatrick, 64, wearing his trademark navy suit and pink tie, did not respond when each of the charges was read out and nodded at the judge when his bail conditions were issued.

He was released on bail of 10,000 euros and told to appear in court for another hearing on March 22, when his trial date could be set.

FitzPatrick’s other trial, scheduled for January next year, concerns 16 charges relating to the bank’s collapse - along with two other former top executives - for allegedly giving unlawful loans to a group of 10 high profile investors.

Anglo planned to take legal action against auditors Ernst & Young, but the liquidation in January of the re-named Bank Resolution Corp (IBRC) may delay any proceedings.

FitzPatrick faces up to five years in prison if found guilty of any of the charges from either trial and must continue to report weekly to police.

In a long-running investigation spanning since 2009, police and the Director of Corporate Enforcement (ODCE) are still checking other aspects of the Anglo case. It’s unclear if other elements of the investigation involve FitzPatrick.